Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-26

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart below shows the percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The bar chart illustrates the proportion of houses own and rented during years 1911 to 2011.

Overall the figure of owning house was increased significantly throughout these years while also a certain decline in renting house.

On the one hand households in rented accommodation were at peak in 1918 at 78% , after that in years 1939 and 1953 the figure decline with almost 69% each, after that a gradually decline was in years 1961,1971,1981,[redacted phone] with the proportion of 5%9,5%0,40%,32%,31% each respectively while in year 2011 it increases a little bit of 37% for the first time after 1918.

On the other hand owning a house increases significantly throughout the years, With the highest proportion in years 2001 and after 1991 with percentages of 69 and 68 while the lowest recorded in year 1918 .

And also one thing in year 2011 the trend have to turn over a little bit with the decline on owning a House and Increasing in Renting

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the chart’s main contrast and broad movement: renting falls over time while ownership rises, and both reverse direction in 2011. Several figures are also reported accurately, including ownership at 68% in 1991 and 69% in 2001, and renting at 32% and 31% in those years. However, the opening gives the period as starting in 1911 rather than 1918, and the rented figures for 1961 and 1971 are malformed (“5%9” and “5%0”), making key data unclear. The overview also overstates ownership as increasing throughout, since it falls from 69% to 64% in 2011. A clearer overview and more precise reporting of the turning point would make the summary more complete and reliable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for rented and owned accommodation. The contrastive phrases “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” help signal the two categories, and the final sentence returns to the 2011 reversal. However, progression within the rented paragraph is difficult to follow because several years and figures are compressed into one long sentence, with inconsistent punctuation between “1991.2001.” The repeated “after that” also makes the sequence feel mechanical. Grouping the early, middle and later years into clearer comparisons, and using full stops to separate trends, would improve cohesion and make the data easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “proportion,” “peak,” “decline,” and “highest proportion,” so the topic is generally clear. There is some attempt at variation through phrases such as “On the one hand” and “turn over.” However, several word forms and collocations are inaccurate or awkward: “houses own and rented,” “owning house,” and “a gradually decline” do not express the intended ideas naturally. “Turn over” is also not the right expression for a change in direction. Repeated use of “figure” and “increases significantly” limits precision. Build a more reliable set of phrases for describing percentages and trends, such as “the proportion of households that owned their homes” and “ownership declined slightly.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with time clauses, for example, “after that in years 1939 and 1953 the figure decline.” This shows some range, but control is uneven. There are errors in verb forms and agreement, including “the figure decline,” “the figure of owning house was increased,” and “the trend have to turn over.” Articles and plural forms are also often missing, as in “owning a house” and “in rented accommodation.” Some sentences run together or use punctuation inconsistently, particularly the long sequence of years and percentages. These issues sometimes make the intended relationships harder to understand. Practise accurate past-tense trend descriptions and divide complex comparisons into complete, well-punctuated sentences.

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